The Hero Reborn
by LadyKayoss
Summary: The past returns to haunt the people of Hyrule when Ganon is resurrected.
1. Awakening Memories

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of the Legend of Zelda characters portrayed within.

Preface:  I hate having to do this, but this fic is going to need some explanation.  Not too long ago, I stumbled upon a site that had an "official" sequence for the Legend of Zelda games.  It listed Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask as taking place before A Link to the Past, then Legend of Zelda and LoZ 2.  This didn't make sense at first, until you read through the stories to each of the games.  A Link to the Past states that someone wielding the Triforce of Courage and using the Master Sword sealed away the thief Ganondorf with the help of seven wise men.  This is precisely what happened in Ocarina...  Then, in LoZ 2, it says Link has begun to show strange abilities, and is able to read ancient Hyrulian, a lost language.  He also shows signs of having the Triforce of Courage, which was never mentioned in the first Legend of Zelda.  My theory is that this Link is the reincarnation of Ocarina's Link.  And as for Zelda, in LoZ 2, Impa tells Link a story about how the first Zelda was caught by a spell in a war and put to sleep, and that all the female children since in the family were named Zelda.  In LoZ 2, Link is trying to awake the original Zelda, I think.  This could be the Zelda from Ocarina.

This story takes the place of Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.  In that game, I think they were trying to revive Ganon using Link's blood - it's been too long since I've played it.  Other than that, the story follows the game sequence I listed above.  Further explanations will be within the story.  Sorry if this is confusing; I hope it will become more clear as the story progresses.  I'll try to address any questions asked.

And, I apologize for Link's personality. In the games, he practically has _none, _so I had to improvise.  There was a cartoon about LoZ, where Link was a bit of a whiny, kiss-obsessed moron at times, and I've borrowed heavily from that to start with.  However, I promise you that things _will _change.  Also, I've taken some liberties with some of the dialogue from the game - I really can't remember what was said in some of the scenes, and I apologize.

Now, if you haven't been scared away, on with the story!

**THE HERO REBORN**

Prologue:  Awakening Memories

It began just like many of Link's other dreams:  He was in a green, grassy field, sitting on a blanket that had been set out for a picnic.  Beside him, Princess Zelda relaxed, her eyes closed, blond hair blown away from her face by a gentle breeze.  As if sensing his admiring gaze, she opened her eyes and smiled at him invitingly.  "Hey, hero," she whispered, her voice low and husky.  Link found himself drawn closer.  He placed a hand on her chin, admiring her sparkling blue eyes, her perfect porcelain skin, and her delicate smile.  "Do it," she encouraged.  "You've wanted it since we've first met.  Do it.  Kiss me, Link!"

There was nothing he could do but oblige; after all, who was he to ignore a direct order from a princess?  He brushed back a lock of his brown hair, and leaned forward.  He moved in closer, and closer, until he could smell her sweet breath.  He closed his eyes and prepared himself.

At this point, Link's dream always became something closer to reality.  Just before their lips touched, Zelda let out a screech and slapped him across the cheek.  "What do you think you're doing?" she cried.  "You jerk!"  Link backed away in confusion.

"Well, excuuuuse me, Princess!" he drawled in a wounded tone.  "I was only obeying your orders!"

She stood up in a huff.  "I don't believe you!  I would never say anything to encourage you!" she snapped.  With that, she whirled away, her angry strides taking her rapidly across the field.  Link tried to follow, but lost sight of her.  He growled in frustration.

"Stupid Princess," he muttered.  "Always runs off at the best part."

If his dreams had been following their natural course, a horde of Moblins would have put in an appearance then, or a dragon, or even pig-faced Ganon himself would pop up out of the tall grass and attacked.  Then Link would work out his frustrations fighting his foes before he woke up in the morning to face the real Zelda.

But what appeared in their stead was a young boy.  He was about nine or ten years old, with blond hair and wide blue eyes.  He was dressed in a green tunic and hat, similar to Link's own.  What surprised Link, though, was the sword and shield slung casually over the boy's back.  He carried these items easily, with the air of someone who could wield them confidently and competently.  That seemed wrong to Link; the boy should be playing with friends, not fighting.

Link met the boy's sober eyes, and was startled at what he saw there.  His eyes weren't full of the usual sparkle of mischief a boy his age should have, but seemed old and weary, and full of pain.  What had this boy seen that made him so? Link wondered.

Link took a tentative step forward.  "Hi," he said calmly, so as not to frighten his visitor.  The boy continued to regard him silently.  This threw Link off.  "Um," he brilliantly continued, "what are you doing here?"  The boy turned away.  "Hey, wait!" Link cried, as the boy began to move off.  The boy stopped obligingly, and gestured towards Link.  "Do you want me to follow?" he asked hesitantly.  The boy nodded and set off across the field again, a confused Link in tow.

The scenery abruptly changed around them.  The field of grass was replaced by a long hall that seemed to extend forever.  It was dark, the only light source Link could see was the odd globe of light that flitted about his young companion, which Link belatedly realized was a fairy.

"Where are we?" he asked.  His voice echoed down the corridor.  He met the boy's eyes.  "Where have you taken me?"  The boy's only response was that unnerving stare.  Link shivered; what had he gotten himself into?  Sure, maybe this was just a dream, but Link didn't like the direction it was taking.

The boy continued onward, and Link had no choice but to follow.  As they moved on, Link realized the hallway wasn't as featureless as he'd originally thought.  There were four mirrors spaced widely apart along one of the walls.  As they passed the first one, the boy drew to a halt.  Link looked at the mirror, his eyes tracing the frame.  At the top was engraved a round, inhuman face, painted with sad orange eyes and a round, open mouth.  Link turned to the boy's reflection and gasped.  Instead of the green-clad blond boy, a small creature seemingly made of wood was staring back.  It had an oversize head, and sorrowful, luminescent eyes.  Its green clothing seemed painted onto its wooden body.  It stared at Link pleadingly.  Link backed away when he saw the unfamiliar creature, feeling uneasy.  "What is it?" he asked his companion.  He didn't expect an answer, and wasn't disappointed.

After a few moments, the boy waved them on.  Link followed to the second mirror.  This one also had a face carved into the frame, a wide brown one with a gentle expression.  Again, Link looked at the boy's reflection, and again was surprised by what he saw.  A large, round creature was filling the mirror frame.  It had a mottled brown body, with a wide stomach.  Its aged face with its white hair seemed harmless, though Link didn't doubt there was a lot of power in those muscular arms.

At the boy's urging, they continued to the next mirror.  This one had a pale, oval face with fin-like ears at the top, and the reflection was a tall aquatic creature with blue and white skin, except for the long fin on the back of its head, which was green.  Again, Link didn't recognize the species.

As they proceeded to the last mirror, Link tried to figure out what was going on.  What was the boy trying to tell him?  Why did he have these odd reflections?  And why did Link find something about this vaguely... familiar?

At last, they reached the final mirror.  This one didn't have a face carved into it; instead, it had the Triforce.  The boy didn't stop in front of it as Link expected, but leaped through.  The surface of the mirror rippled like water at his passing, but when Link touched the surface of the mirror, it felt solid.

"Great," he muttered.  "Now what?"  An image began to form in the mirror.  At first, Link thought it was the boy, but the figure was larger.  No, it was the boy, but older, Link realized, as he regarded a young blond man about his own age standing on the other side of the mirror.  The two stared at each other silently for a moment, then the blonde's lips moved.  He made no sound, but Link had understood what he was saying.

_Come..._

"Come where?" Link asked warily.  In response, a red-gloved hand reached through the mirror and grabbed Link's tunic, and began to pull him in.  Link squirmed desperately, but couldn't break the other's strong grip.  Link cried out as he hit the mirror's surface.

The world became a series of broken images, moving to quickly for Link to make any sense of them.

...strange beings, some of them human, some not, wielding great power...

...a tree with life of its own...

...a young blond woman with regal features, wearing a pink and whit dress, handing him an odd blue instrument...

"What's going on?" Link tried to cry out, but couldn't.

...an enormous monster, with horns and snout like an ox, wielding two swords...

...an empty chamber, with a small floating dais carved with six symbols, the marks of the Sages...

...a being wearing a mask that resembled a heart lined with spikes...

All these images and more passed through Link's mind.  He felt dizzy; this was too much to take in all at once!  "Stop it!" he pleaded.  "Leave me alone!"

_Remember..._ a voice said softly into his mind.

"Remember what?!" he demanded, his voice cracking.

The images began to slow and solidify around him.  Suddenly, he was outside an unfamiliar castle, crouching in the unnatural dark.  There was a man on horseback before him.  Link shivered with fear, but tried to hide it from this man before him.  The man was scanning the horizon for something, then turned to Link.  Link's heart froze as he truly saw the man for the first time.  He was enormous, not just because he was on the back of his nightmarish steed.  He must have been well over seven feet tall.  His skin was ashen, and his hair a flaming scarlet.  But it was the eyes that frightened Link the most.  They matched his hair in color, and seemed to burn with an inner flame.  But a deadly intelligence lurked among the embers of his eyes.  And evil...  Link didn't think he'd ever seen anything so evil in his life, and he'd seen a lot...

The man spoke in a deep voice, words that Link didn't catch.  All he knew was that he had to stand his ground, defy this evil man.  He drew his sword, though he knew it would be a losing battle.  As he held the unfamiliar blade in his left hand, it was then he realized he was no longer in his own body, but one much younger and smaller.  The boy's!

At this gesture, the man laughed, a low, slow sound.  Clearly, he wasn't impressed with Link's show of defiance.  He urged his horse forward, and they galloped off into the dark.

The scene shifted again.  Now Link was inside a round room, with a stifling atmosphere, as if it had been sealed and only just now opened.  He was standing before a sword that towered as high as himself, which seemed to have a life of its own.

The Master Sword... It had been awhile since Link had seen the legendary blade, though he recognized it right away.  But it hadn't seemed so alive before, he thought.  He stepped forward, wrapping his hands around the hilt, and drew it from its stone resting place.

The drawing of the sword seemed to cause reality to shift and move faster around him, and he was engulfed in an inviting white light.  But the evil man appeared again, thanking Link for opening the gateway for him and vanishing and then Link felt a lot of pain as if his soul was being ripped away...

_Remember..._

*    *    *

In his room inside Hyrule Castle, Link shot bolt upright, his heart hammering in his chest, sweat pouring down his face.  It had been a dream.  It had all been a dream.  It hadn't even been one of the worst ones, he tried to soothe himself.  Certainly not the most frightening!

But what was it about this dream that left him with a lingering feeling of dread, and made it impossible to get back to sleep that night?


	2. Secrets

Disclaimer:  I do not own any of the characters from the Legend of Zelda series.

Author's Note:  I don't have much to say here, except to urge you to read the preface in the prologue if you skipped over it.  It explains a lot, though I'll try to make things more clear as the story progresses.  Oh, and Sprite is the name of the fairy in the short LOZ cartoon that was on in the '80's.  Her only purpose seemed to be to whine and insist that Link was hers.  She makes Navi seem like a saint. Also, I'd intended for this chapter to be longer, but this was the best I could do with my busy schedule.  Sorry.

**THE HERO REBORN**

Chapter One

Secrets

He slept very little that night, and when he finally gave up and climbed out of bed, the first thing he did was go to the mirror hung on the wall. He examined himself carefully; there was no change in the dark brown hair that hung around his face in thick strands, or in the dark eyes.  His features were still the coarse peasant's features he'd grown up with.  What had he been expecting?  To think that he had become that blond other during the night was foolishness.  Still, he was going through many changes, and not just because tomorrow - no, he realized when he checked the hour, _today _- was his sixteenth birthday.

Link highly doubted that most people had the mark of the Triforce appear on their hands when they turned sixteen.  Its appearance had surprised Zelda, and something about it alarmed Impa, though the old woman hid her reaction well.

He spent the rest of the night pondering its meaning on the balcony, his eyes on the starry sky, watching as it slowly brightened into dawn.  It was officially his birthday, and while once he would have eagerly looked forward to it, now it disturbed him.  He hoped he could just get through it quickly and quietly.  But he was soon to discover that was not to be.

Link staggered downstairs to the kitchen of Hyrule Castle, where he usually had a quick breakfast.  Princess Zelda was already there, sitting at a small wooden table with Impa, their heads close as they spoke.  Although the princess was supposed to eat in the Great Hall, attended by a multitude of servants, Zelda preferred the cozy kitchen atmosphere to the empty Hall.  Especially when her father the king was gone, as he often was.  Now that Zelda was old enough to look after the kingdom, the king of Hyrule often left to attend to distant matters.

When she spotted him, Zelda gave a guilty start and pulled away from Impa.  She smiled and waved as if there was nothing wrong.  Link eyed them suspiciously for a moment, then dismissed it as one of the castle servants set out a plate for Link across from Impa and Zelda.

"Good morning, Link!" Zelda said brightly.  A little too brightly, really.  Now Link knew she was up to something.  But he was too tired to care, at the moment.  And the hot food in front of him was just too tempting to ignore.

"G'mornin'," he mumbled as he began to stuff his face.  Impa rolled her eyes at his lack of manners, but kept quiet.  The old woman had long ago learned that the young hero just couldn't seem to grasp the concept of etiquette.

"How are you today?" Zelda continued.  Link just gave a noncommittal grunt.  "Are you ready for a busy day?"  Grunt.  Zelda frowned, perplexed.  "Are you all right, Link?"  He grunted again.  "Are you even paying attention to me?"  He didn't even make a sound this time, just stared at his food as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.  Zelda scowled.  Was he _ignoring _her?  "Would you like me to kiss you now, Link?" she asked sweetly.  When he still didn't respond, Zelda knew there was something wrong.  Ignoring her or not, Link never failed to rise to the bait.

"What's the matter, boy?" Impa asked, her scratchy voice breaking into Link's thoughts.  He started, uncomfortably aware that they were both staring at him.

"Dreams," Link said, shrugging his shoulders.  "That's all."

Zelda rolled her eyes.  "You're this distracted over a dream?  What woman were you dreaming about now?  Or don't I want to know?"

"It wasn't like that," Link said defensively, a slight blush rising to his cheeks.  He'd made the mistake of telling Zelda about one of _those _dreams once.  "It's... no, it's nothing.  Forget I mentioned it."

"If it disturbs you that much, perhaps it would do you well to talk about it," Impa said.  Her sharp gaze was upon him, and Link flinched under it.  He suddenly noticed that though her face was wrinkled with age, her eyes still had the brightness and clarity of youth.

"The dream didn't make any sense," Link said in a rush.  "Just... images, mostly.  I was walking down a hallway with mirrors, then I was pulled into one, and saw a lot of strange images.  Like a small green-haired girl, and a muscular, bearded giant.  There was an exotic woman with a prominent nose, and a hard faced warrior woman.  And some sort of fish girl, too."

"All those women," Zelda scoffed.  "No wonder you didn't sleep very well."

Link ignored her.  "There was a man with burning eyes... and the Triforce, all three pieces of it.  And the Master Sword was involved somehow."  He rubbed his face wearily.  "I think the past is just coming back to haunt me, is all.  After all I've done, I'm bound to have some bad dreams, right?" Link's voice was weak, and his smile thin.

Impa's face had turned expressionless, and Zelda was suddenly thoughtful.  "It does sound like you're being haunted by your experiences," she said finally.  "Or... maybe it's a message or something."  She took his left hand in hers, a touch she wouldn't have dared in an ordinary situation.  "The Triforce is clearer," she said with a frown, examining the back of his hand.  "Maybe... maybe you're going to find it," she said at last.

"The Triforce of Courage has been lost for centuries, thought to have been carried to the grave of its last wielder," Impa said abruptly.  "I wonder why it chooses to show itself now." 

Silence descended as the implications of Impa's statement settled over them. Could there be a new threat coming to Hyrule?  They'd only just rid themselves of the last!

"So," Zelda said suddenly, her voice sounding over-loud.  "Were you planning anything for today, Link?"  He sighed, grateful for the change of subject.

"Well, it is my - " he began.

"Because moblins have been sighted outside of town," Zelda continued as if she hadn't heard of him.  "They're making the townsfolk nervous.  If you aren't busy..."

"I'll take care of them," Link said, resigned.  It wasn't what he wanted to do on his birthday.  Then again, neither was brooding about a dream that probably meant nothing at all, or worrying over a threat that may not even exist.  He got to his feet.  "In fact, I'll do that now and get it over with."  He glanced down at his unfinished breakfast.  "I'm not that hungry, anyway.  Just tell me where to go, Princess, and I'll be off."

Zelda told him, and he departed for his room to collect his gear.  When she was certain he was out of earshot, she turned to Impa.  "As soon as he's gone, we'll get the party organized," she smiled.  Then she caught sight of the expression on Impa's face.  "What's wrong?"

The old woman shook her head.  "Nothing," she said, her voice betraying no emotion.  "You go ahead and organize the surprise party; I need to take care of something, first."  Her expression still grim, Impa left the table without waiting to be excused.  Zelda watched her, puzzled, then shook her head.  She had been planning this surprise party for months; she wouldn't let her guardian's upsetting behavior ruin her plans!

*    *    *

Impa swept down the halls with a swift stride that would have surprised anyone who encountered her.  She may have been old, more ancient than most suspected, but she had lost none of her race's speed.  _Damn it, boy, what's going on with you?  _Her thoughts were focused entirely upon the young hero and his disturbing words.  Fortunately, her feet knew the way to her destination, and she could concentrate on Link's dream.

A small, green-haired girl, he'd said.  _Saria, the Sage of Forest.  _A muscular, bearded giant:  _The Goron Sage of Fire…  _An exotic woman with a prominent nose…  _Nabooru, Sage of Spirit…  _The fish girl, Ruto, the Sage of Water…  And a hard faced warrior woman; herself in earlier times, the Sage of Shadow.  Link was dreaming of the Sages, now referred to as the Seven Wise Men, despite the fact that few of them were men, much less Hylian.  The Triforce…  The Master Sword…  Line was dreaming of a time long past, a time when another hero had sealed away the thief Ganondorf for centuries.

Impa paused at what looked like a solid stone wall and, after a quick glance down the silent hall, she pulled down the unlit brazier.  There was a low rumbling, and the rocky wall slid to the side.  Impa steeped into the shadowed passage, activating the mechanism that closed the door behind her.

The stairway was dark, but she found her way up by touch.  As she neared the top, her way brightened as she neared the chamber that was her destination.

The massive room had once been a solar, an upper floor room where the ladies of the castle could entertain themselves and bask in the sun.  But the room had been ordered sealed to everyone except the one chosen to watch over the occupants, the marvelous windows had been glassed in with dark-stained glass, and the furnishings had succumbed to ruin.  Only Impa of the near-immortal race of Sheikahs could recall what the room had looked like in its glory days, when the one laid out on the dais in the room's center had still laughed and loved and lived.

Princess Zelda.  Not the girl who used the name now, the latest in a long line of princesses who wore her name, but the first.  The woman who had wielded the Triforce of Wisdom and banished Ganondorf from their realm for what they'd thought was forever.

Her current state was tragically ironic.  After surviving Ganondorf's dark magic and saving her kingdom, a stray spell in a misguided feud had caught her, putting her into a coma from which no one could awake her.  She lay, alive and yet not, here in this room for centuries.

Impa had shown her to Link, who had been saddened by the girl's condition, but had no knowledge of how to revive her.  Impa had hoped that, with his strange acquisition of ancient knowledge that seemed to have come with the Triforce of Courage's awakening, he may have had ideas how to arouse her.

She hadn't shown him the other occupant, the one who lay behind the faded red tapestry that divided the room.  The one who had also been caught in the spell when he'd tried to defend his princess.

Impa parted the heavy red drape, stepping to the dais on the other side.  Like Zelda, this figure was caught in the same state of undeath.  _It's strange…  They're so much alike…  _She stood over the youth lying before her.  Blond, with a hint of red to his hair, tall and well proportioned, his face with finer features than most Hylians had these days, there was little in his physical appearance except his style of dress to compare to the boy that Impa knew.  Yet they could almost be the same man.  _Link…  Ironic that the youth who had fought back the warped and twisted Ganon who had emerged centuries later had born the same name as the hero who had originally sealed him away._

But now Impa began to wonder:  Was it a coincidence, after all?  Link was the heir to the Triforce of Courage, and with that came knowledge from the age when the Hero of Time had lived.  And the dreams…  Were they memories?  If anyone had previously suggested to Impa that their current hero could be this Link reborn, she would have laughed.  Now… now she wasn't so certain.

"Poor boy," she murmured softly as she thought of the one heading off to fight non-existent moblins on his sixteenth birthday.  "You have quite a legacy to live up to."  But why was this happening now?  He'd defeated Ganon twice before without help from the Triforce.  Why did it appear now?  What new threat was looming?  "I hope you're up to it," she murmured.

*    *    *

Link really didn't feel up to fighting moblins right now.  He was weary from his sleepless night, and the normally sedate horse he rode sensed his inattention and tried to get away with mischief.

"Stop it, Strider," he said sternly as the dark bay gelding once again swerved from their path to go after an attractive clump of weeds.  Link yanked the reins, drawing the stubborn horse's head away from its intended snack.  Strider snorted and plodded reluctantly forward, its slow pace taking him nowhere fast.

Link sighed.  He couldn't even get a horse to obey him today…  "Happy birthday to me," he muttered sullenly.  It wasn't the horse's fault, really.  He just wasn't an accomplished enough rider to get his mount to do what he needed even when he was at his most attentive.  Link was a peasant in a world where horses were a rarity.  He'd only just learned to ride less than a year ago, and still had a long way to go.

"If you hurry up, we can get back to the castle and your dinner much faster, you know."

Strider seemed unimpressed by this.  The horse continued its plodding pace, and Link sighed.  _Maybe the beast's in on Zelda's conspiracy…_  Her excuse to get him out of the castle had sounded a little contrived, and Link wondered what she was planning.  Did it have something to do with his birthday?  For a brief moment, he forgot his woes and thought it over.  Maybe, he thought with a grin, he'd finally get that kiss he deserved…

Strider abruptly stopped dead, and Link nearly fell off the saddle.  "If this is about clover," he began.  But something about the horse's attentive posture stopped him.  Strider's wide, dark eyes rolled wildly, and his ears were pinned back.  Warily scanning the forest around him, Link grabbed his short Magic Sword, focusing its energies so he'd be ready to fire off a burst of offensive magic.   _Perhaps there are moblins out here after all…  _

But it didn't feel right, somehow…  Moblins had difficulty hiding, and Link had always been able to sense their presence.  Here, Link felt nothing except a vague unease that there was something seriously wrong…

_Why didn't I bring Sprite? _he wondered angrily.  The fairy had wanted to remain at the castle, probably to help Zelda with her nefarious plot, though she would have come at his insistence.  Link hadn't thought he'd need her.  She would have been able to scout out the woods for him.

A soft whistling noise was Link's only warning, followed by a sharp pain in his chest.  He turned in its direction, firing off the magic blast instinctively.  He heard a cry as he hit the target, but he didn't get the opportunity to investigate.

There was an arrow imbedded in his chest, the visible part of the shaft coated with an amber liquid.  Blood welled from the wound, and he lifted his arm to pull the arrow free and to heal the…  But his limbs felt unnaturally heavy, and a numbness spread through his body.  He couldn't reach the arrow.  _It's poisoned! _he realized with horror as he slid off the saddle and fell heavily to the ground.  He couldn't move, couldn't even twitch his body as dark shapes crowded into his vision and cries of triumph filled his ears.  He could do nothing as the world around him slowly faded to black.

To Be Continued…


End file.
